This is a collection of free Urdu software tools from Internet. Follow
these easy steps to make your computer Urdu compatible. Here you can
install Urdu Nastaleeq Font (Jameel Noori). After installing this font
you can read Urdu in Nastaleeq font on many popular Urdu websites e.g.
Nawaiwaqt. In addition to that, you can also install Urdu Phonetic
Keyboard. After installing Urdu keyboard on Windows computer you can
type Urdu Unicode text in programs like Microsoft Word, Excel,
Powerpoint, etc. You can also send and receive emails in Urdu from
almost all email providers. This keyboard is specially designed to use
your existing keyboard with English keys to type Urdu. Further, you can
also enable Unicode Urdu in Windows XP which will enable your computer
to support right-to-left typing of Urdu.

Install Urdu Fonts on Windows

If you are using Windows XP or Vista computer,
Click Here to download.
When you click, you will see the following popup window, please click on
the Run button:

If you get a warning on Windows Vista that a program is trying to access
your computer, please allow it to run so it can install the font. After
this the font will be installed and you can close the window, and
restart your browser or refresh/reload this page to view the text in
newly installed font. If you install the font again when new update
becomes available, you may need to restart your computer.

Other Operating Systems

If you are on Linux or other operating system which also supports
OpenType/TrueType fonts, then you can manually download and install the
ttf files from here. The zip file contains 3 ttf files. Please follow
your operating system instructions on how to install these fonts.

Installing the Urdu Font on Apple Mac

Download the font zip file from here. Extract the zip file and double
click the ttf files one by one to install. When you double click the
font file, you will be presented with a small preview (written in the
Roman alphabet) along with a button at the bottom that says "Install
Font" as shown below:

Install Urdu Keyboard

Windows Vista / 7

If you are using Windows Vista, after installing the above keyboard you
can type Urdu on your Windows Vista Computer. To switch between Urdu and
English keyboard, you can press Alt+Shift. Or on your taskbar you can
see EN or UR and click on it to select the language as shown in this
figure:

Windows XP

If you are using Windows XP, you need to follow steps mentioned in the
section about Enabling Unicode Urdu in Winodws.

Keyboard Layout

You can also download and print this Urdu Phonetic Keyboard Layout in
PDF format for your reference. This page explains which key has alef,
bay, pay etc. Here is the low resolution image:

Enable Unicode Urdu in Windows XP

If you are on Windows XP, follow these steps: (Note: this step is not
required for Windows Vista/7/8)

Click on Start, Settings, and then Control Panel

Click on Regional and Language Options. (You may need Windows XP CD in
your CD/DVD drive after this step)

Click on Languages tab, and select first checkbox that says "Install
files for complex scripts and right-to-left languages..."

and then click on OK button. This will bring this prompt. Click OK
button to continue:

Now it will ask you for Windows XP CD in your CD/DVD drive:

Once you press ok and the correct CD is in the drive, it will continue
with the installation like this:

Next it will ask you to restart the computer. Select No at this time.

Now click on the Details... button which will bring this window, which
lists the currently installed languages and keyboards:

Now click on the Add... button which will bring this window, where you
will select Input language: Urdu and Keyboard layout/IME: Urdu Phonetic
1.0 (this is the keyboard layout that we installed earlier)

Now press OK on all windows to close them. You can restart your computer
now to load new settings. Once you have restarted, you can see that Urdu
language is available in your taskbar as shown in this screen shot:

Now to switch between Urdu and English, you can press Alt+Shift. Or on
your taskbar you can see EN or UR and click on it to select the
language.